Summer Berries With Mascarpone Whipped Cream

This simple dessert lets summer’s berries shine. Topped with a slightly-sweet mascarpone whipped cream, this is the perfect red, white and blue dish to serve for your July 4th celebrations!

What’s on your agenda for the upcoming holiday weekend? We plan to spend our 4th of July grilling in our backyard and enjoying beers around the fire pit with friends. I often work during the holiday, so we tend to keep our celebrations laid back.

Believe it or not, we haven’t seen fireworks since we moved to Bloomington! The town I grew up in set fireworks off in a centrally-located park, which meant you could see them from almost anywhere. It’s weird to me that you have to drive out to the lake or other areas of town to catch any here. But, I’m determined to see fireworks this year. I do always make sure to grab some sparklers — I think running around the yard with them is just as fun as an adult.

I like to keep our celebratory meals for summer holidays light, which is where this dessert comes in. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good fruit crisp or pie, but they involve turning the oven on and often leave me craving a nap. This dessert couldn’t be more simple. The most time-consuming aspect is slicing the berries.

I think mascarpone cheese and whipped cream are rich and sweet enough on their own, so I add just a hint of sugar to the mix. Feel free to add more sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time if you have a more tart batch of berries. You will likely have some leftover whipped cream, which is never a bad thing!

Summer Berries With Mascarpone Whipped Cream

serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 lb. strawberries

1 pint blueberries

1 cup heavy whipping cream

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 Tbsp. sugar

Directions

Place a large metal mixing bowl in the freezer. While bowl chills, wash strawberries and blueberries using cold water. Set blueberries aside. Hull and slice strawberries and set aside.

Once bowl is cold to the touch, add heavy whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat mixture while slowly rotating the bowl until stiff peaks form.

Divide berries evenly between six to eight small bowls. Top with a hefty portion of whipped cream.